popular. This is in praise of Mary under the title of Our Lady of Refuge. The utterances of Kaḷi (drun kards) are omitted by Beschi and only those of Iṭaicci, Teṉṟal and Valacci are included. Here again, we see that Beschi has blended beautifully Christian notions and traditions with Tamil ones. In this poem, at the very beginning the Virgin Mary is beautifully described. The virginity of Mary us often spoken about. The lines read:

The same concept is expressed by the native poet Tāyumāṉavar.

Beschi’s poetic genius comes out expressivley here. The underlined words give ample evidence of it.

In Tamil poems, the same word will mean differently according to the context in which it appears; words will also vary in meaning according to the way they are split. These features have been well handled by Beschi even as the natives did. The alliteration in the last lines of verse 22 is noteworthy:

Beschi’s second best poem is Kittēriammāḷ Ammāṉai, but less known than the Tēmpāvaṇi. This can be considered as a minor epic. It is sung in the folk rhythm of Tamilnad and expounds the greatness of St. Kittēri. Three women join together and cast dice in turn as part of a game. Before the dice is cast